Mid-States Concrete Industries celebrates Women in Construction Week (March 6 – 12) by highlighting women on our team making their mark in the construction industry.
Today we feature Senior Structural Engineer Tara Loomis, PE. Tara has been on the Mid-States team for just over three years and has been in engineering roles since 1999. In her previous role, she served as Engineer of Record.
As a kid, Tara loved playing with blocks, Legos, and anything she could build with. When she reached college, she wasn’t sure exactly what she wanted to study and found herself exploring different classes. It was actually her inability to learn Spanish that led Tara to Engineering – the only major that didn’t require a foreign language.
“When I got there, I excelled and it was meant to be,” she said.
As a young engineer, Tara was extremely shy. As a female in a male-dominated industry, it can be very intimidating. However, through the years of being singled out for that reason, she found her voice. She learned to step out of her comfort zone, and this shaped her into the professional she is today.
“When you’re surrounded by sportscoats and often the only female in the room, you have to find that voice and speak up,” she said.
What Tara loves about her job is that every project is a new challenge. She loves digging into a project and being part of the solution.
“I like the diversity of changing projects along with working with different clients,” she said. “I never solve the same puzzle twice.”
As part of Mid-States Concrete’s Preconstruction Team, Tara provides valuable early design-assistance to our customers. This is one of the things we think sets us apart from others in the industry.
“I enjoy what I do here,” she said. “… Laying systems out, taking the challenges of flipping a post-tension system to a precast system, working with architects and engineers… trying to find the most economic precast option for our clients.”
One of the great things about the construction industry, is that it is so open-ended. There are so many places you can go and so many different jobs and opportunities. It’s versatile so you can move around, even within the company, Tara said.
When it comes to offering advice to other women looking to enter the field, Tara suggests knowing your worth and asking for what you need. Find your voice, stand your ground, step outside your comfort zone, always try to raise the bar, and find a mentor to champion your contributions.
Precast Concrete Foundation Walls Installation in Action
When Continental Building Co. became the general contractor on the Waters of Pewaukee project in Pewaukee, Wisc., one of the first things that needed consideration was the foundation of the building.
While planning for the project, the design team anticipated precast foundation walls would be much faster than other options. The project includes 28,994 square feet of hollowcore, 41 beams, 43 columns, 157 wall panels, and 1,318 square feet of solid slabs.
Click the video above, or this link, to check out our Installation Team in action on the project.
Foundation Walls Installation Photo Gallery
Click the photo above, or this link, to check out photos of our Installation Team onsite at The Waters of Pewaukee.
Precast Chalk Talk: Episode 30
In this episode of Precast Chalk Talk, President Hagen Harker talks with representatives from Elematic, our hollowcore machinery partner.
Foundation Walls: Vintage Coop of Johnston
Built in 2018, the Vintage Cooperative of Johnston is a three-story, 46 unit senior living community. Features included within the building include a community room, outdoor patio, fitness center, lounge, library, heated underground parking and more.
The heated underground parking of the building was achieved through the use of precast foundation walls, beams, columns, and hollowcore.
Precast Components
25,891 square feet of 8” & 12” Hollowcore
36 Beams
26 Columns
97 Wall Panels (18,514 square feet)
Project Partners
GC: Downing Construction
Architect: JSSH
EOR: Blanchard Engineering
With a precast system of foundation walls, beams, columns, and hollowcore, you get a complete structural system to support even the heaviest of loads. Foundation wall panels hold back the earth creating a hole in the ground for usable space, like for a parking garage.
The two biggest reasons customers turn to precast foundation walls are speed and schedule. Our foundation walls are manufactured at our plant in South Beloit on a steel bed with side rails to create the edges. They are manufactured with steel reinforcing.
Once finished, they are stored in our yard, ready for shipping to the job site and can be installed in all weather conditions. Trucks bring the pieces to the site where they are installed with a crane. There is a welded connection from the base of the panels to the concrete footings and the panels are connected together with a welded connection. Once the panels are installed, the interior and exterior joints are calked.
LEARN MORE >>
Do you want to learn more about how Mid-States Concrete’s foundation walls could work with your project? Our preconstruction team is happy to assist.
Wisconsin: Jeremy Olivotti
Iowa: Troy Yaun
Wisconsin/Iowa/Illinois: Colin Jones
Senior Living Projects Utilize Precast Foundation Walls, Find Savings: Part 2
The Waters of Pewaukee is a three-story, 115 apartment building, with a one-story wing with memory care units, as well as 24 individual cottages. Precast concrete was used for the foundation walls and parking structure of the building. This project is currently under construction.
Waters of Pewaukee: Pewaukee, WI
When Continental Building Co. became the general contractor on the Waters of Pewaukee project in Pewaukee, Wisc., one of the first things that needed consideration was the foundation of the building.
Project Manager John Vitovsky said while his team typically goes with CMU foundation walls, while the project was still in the design phase his team anticipated precast foundation wall panels would be much faster than using CIP or even CMU. They also selected precast foundation walls due to the region of the project.
”At the time we anticipated setting during the winter, which cast-in-place would have created schedule issues due to weather,” Vitovsky said.
And although Vitovsky didn’t necessarily find material savings by utilizing precast, savings are realized elsewhere.
”Definitely through schedule, which tends to be priceless when working for a client such as The Waters,” he said.
Vitovsky acknowledged that as of the design phase, he would definitely recommend the use of precast foundation walls, since the scheduling aspect is very enticing, but felt his experience could be better evaluated at the end of the project.
”We have a lot of experience with precast from other projects… and feel this is much easier for coordination and for scheduling,” he said.
The project includes 28,994 square feet of hollowcore, 41 beams, 43 columns, 167 wall panels, and 1,318 square feet of solid slabs.
Project Partners
General Contractor: Continental Building Co.
Architect: Kaas Wilson Architects
EOR: BKBM Engineers